


Of Sun and Moon

by CaptainDeryn



Series: Questionably Legal [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Alliance Commanders Smuggler and Risha, Alternate KotFE/KotET, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, Political Alliances, Political Campaigns, Space Politics, Strong Language, casually taking over the senate, eventual Alliance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 19:02:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14315133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainDeryn/pseuds/CaptainDeryn
Summary: Two shots changed the galaxy. While the Eternal Empire struggles to regroup, Captain Emeldir Deryn and Risha Drayen will scramble to purge the corruption eroding the Republic Senate and stamp out the embers of a brewing faction war before they all fall. In the midst of a political power move that will take Coruscant by storm, they find family, each other, and realize that their part to play in the larger galaxy is all but over.





	Of Sun and Moon

_ (Emeldir Deryn) _

The fluorescent lights bathing the orbital station in a warm white-yellow glow flickered, on and off, on and off, plunging the evacuees, orbital personnel, Emeldir, and Risha into brief periods of darkness. Around the infrastructure of the station quivered, caf and food stands shifting in their designated lines, ships vibrating in their hangars. From the viewport, hand hovering over the terminal asking him for his ship's information, Emeldir watched as Ziost's greenery began to falter, a sickly grey tearing apart the surface like all the color was being drained from it.

"What is that?" Risha stepped up next to him, their eyes meeting before shifting back to the dying planet. As if he should have all the answers she asked; "Emeldir, what's doing that? We were just down there."

"I," He moved away from the terminal, walking over to the viewport and pausing, laying his hand on the glass. In his peripheral he could see his own reflection, dusty and cut from the fight through the city, eyes wide in the flickering lights. In front of him, Ziost crumbled to ash, leaving on a grey husk in its place. "I don't know."

Silence wrapped around the orbital station like a blanket, stillness falling heavy as a rock. No one dared move, eyes fixed on the planet they circled around. No more than three standard hours ago Emeldir and Risha had been down there, helping people evacuate the war-torn cities, even taking as many refugees with them as the  _ Phoenix _ could hold before making the jump back to the station. They had packed every centimeter of their ship, from the engine room to the cargo hold with families that had escaped the wave of possession that had ripped through the entire planet. There had still been people clambering at the ramp as it had retracted back, there were still terrified mothers pushing young children up towards Emeldir as he had stood at the very edge of the ship until it hadn't been able to handle anymore.

Now there was...nothing. Nothing that he knew could wreck that much destruction on an entire planet, obliterate everything on its surface, in the span of a few breaths.

"Deryn," Risha's voice was small. "I think we should get out of here."

"No, no we can't." Fingers still splayed on the glass he tilted his head down, taking in a sharp breath. "Risha what was that? What just happened?"

"I don't know." The sound of keys being tapped and then a flat smack as Risha hit the side of the customs terminal, trying to punch in the verification information for their ship. "This kriffing--I don't know, but we need to get away from here we don't know what kind of weapon that was but it could be targeted here next."

He slowly turned, running a hand over his face and up through his hair, letting out the breath he had taken in and held as if he had forgotten how to breathe. "Those people..."

Biting her lip, eyes blown wide, Risha gave a small shake of her head. "I don't think we can help those people. Not now." When she pointed out of the viewport, towards the planet entirely engulfed in grey, her hand was shaking. "That's not something we can fix."

Around them the orbital station exploded back into life, crashing into a chaotic spin of terror-filled exclamation and scrambling for shuttles. In the middle of it all they were still, eyes locked together. Risha clutched the registration papers of the  _ Phoenix _ close to her, the hand that had been pointing to Ziost instead reached out towards Emeldir. "I know we left people down there but we need to leave. Please."

He lingered, shifting from foot to foot and shifting his eyes back to the viewport. The main common of the station cleared of people faster than seemed possible, with the way time seemed to move sluggishly around him. The strange hush fell again with the absence of panicking spacers, only the personnel remaining with a few other outliers just as rooted to the spot as Emeldir.

There were still people down there, there had been people that he or the Republic shuttles, private shuttles..anyone willing to pack citizens off planet hadn't been able to take. There were the possessed, those trapped by the possessed, Republic and Imperial military alike. There was the woman that had forcibly shoved her young child at him in the last moment as the  _ Phoenix _ 's engines had roared to life, shouting something only for it to be ripped away in the screaming wind.

All those people couldn't just be...gone.

The expanse of grey said otherwise. The lack of shuttles bolting down to the surface on immediate rescue orders said otherwise.

Risha edged closer past the customs terminal, towards the viewport she had avoided getting within three paces off and gripped his hand in hers, tugging slightly. Her voice, though still shaken, was insistent. "Emeldir, please..."

He stepped with her pull, finally allowing his feet to shuffle from their rooted spot, though his steps were clumsy like he had forgotten how to place one foot in front of the other. Risha sighed in relief, shoulders relaxing, though her grip on his hand did not as they hurried across the main common towards the lift. The closing doors and rattling of the mechanics as they were lowered to the hangar that they had docked in felt far safer than the open expanse of the common, fully facing the mass destruction that had fallen silent and in the span of one blink to another. The rattling of a lift was familiar, it was something he had stepped into more times than he could count. On the Republic Fleet, Coruscant, Corellia, Hoth; it was all consistent, there was never a time when he did not pass through a lift from a hangar.

When they stepped from the small space, faced with the hulking silhouette of the  _ Phoenix _ they were hit by the expanse full force, the corpse of Ziost just visible through the forcefield covering the exit from the hangar. Where he paused, recoiling, Risha ducked her head and covered the distance to the ramp at a walk that was closer to a jog.

Within minutes the engines were firing to life, the forefield disintegrating and the speckled expanse of space opening around them. Coordinates for Coruscant plugged into the navcomputer he flicked the controls for the autopilot and sat down heavily in his chair, pressing the heels of his palms against his temples. He had flown them by Ziost before making the jump into hyperspace, though not close enough to breach the atmosphere and there had been no activity. No readings on the sensors, no contact signals raised to the wave he sent out.

"Shan said he'll contact us as soon as he has more information." Risha slid into the copilot's chair, reaching across him to fiddle with one of the settings on the controls. He could feel the weight of her eyes when he didn't respond. "Deryn?"

"Theron will contact us when he's able." He parroted, bobbing his head up and down slightly. "I heard you."

If he looked out of the corner of his eye he could see her, resting with her elbows on her knees. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, damp, she must have tried to scrub all remnants of Ziost from her skin while he had tried to unwind tightly coiled nerves by concentrating all his energy on flying. Under her eyes was puffy and pink, and when she caught his eye they were still damp. "I know you heard me. And I know you're still in that orbital station."

She knew him far too well, he hung his head, squeezing his eyes closed. "There were separated families down there. Parents that pushed their children onto our ship, siblings that did the same. And we just left them down there."

"We didn't leave them down there." Risha let out a long, tired breath. "We took as many people this freighter could handle, and then some, made the trip to the station and by the time the hangar was clear...that happened. I don't think we could have made another trip down in time."

Her voice turned sharp enough to catch his attention. You cannot beat yourself up for what we couldn't control, you should know that by now. The best thing we can do is wait for Shan to contact us and try and find the monster that caused it."

"Knowing I shouldn't and not doing it are two different things." Emeldir let his hands fall away from his face and drop into his lap, looking at Risha directly for the first time. Despite her words, she looked just as stricken as he felt, just as shaken. "For every life we saved we lost ten more."

"I know," she said. "Stars, I know. But for every life we saved that's one more person who will be able to continue living. It's something." Standing, she let her hand trail across his shoulder. "I'm going to go make sure all the ship's systems are still functioning. Don't crash our ship."

At that he offered the tiniest of smiles, catching her hand before it slipped entirely from his reach and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "Are you alright, Rish?" He hadn't asked that, though he should have, the words slipping away in between one chaos and the other.

"I'm fine." squeezing his fingers with her own she offered just as brief a smile, more a reassurance than a true expression. "I just need to go do..something. Process. Just like I think you are."

He let her slip away with a tiny nod, slowly shifting back to watch the blue and white swirl of hyperspace, hands steepling under his chin and letting himself slip back into the endless loop of thought as he heard Risha's footsteps pad away.

**

Theron's call came while they were still in space, nearing Coruscant. A weary recount of the events after they had separated, on both ends, shared in the briefest words possible, an update on the Jedi master that had been possessed that was personal for Emeldir to only be able to offer a non-committal noise of consolation in the beat of silence. Then, mercifully, the news that they would effectively be on leave until news of Vitiate's whereabouts were found. A smuggler and his crew would be of little help in the search that would rely most heavily on SIS Intelligence and military scouting, classified enough that even Emeldir's state as Chancellor Saresh's appointed most trusted privateer wouldn't be allowed access. They would be able to return to Coruscant or continue their regular business for the interim between now and when information became concrete enough for them to be deployed again.

Their reprieve lasted two weeks, long enough for things to begin to stabilized, for minute repairs and maintenance to be finished on the Phoenix. Long enough for them to settle, so that neither wanted to leave again. When each morning they could wake up next to each other at their leisure, have their morning caf surrounded by the soft ambiance of the bustling city and start the long process of making their apartment less a breaking point between missions and more a permanent home while they waited for the civil war on Dubrillion to quiet it became harder and harder to stomach the thought of stepping back into the galaxy-wide crises they had been shouldering for six long years.

Then, Theron holo'd again and they were in the sky again, meeting the rest of their crew at Port Nowhere after their extended leave--they hadn't thought they'd need them for Ziost, he and Risha had been handling most missions together since the Yavin Coalition. It was better for their crew to get the break, to recoup and reconcile themselves after the resurgence of the old Sith emperor on Yavin IV--and leaping into hyperspace towards coordinates in Wild Space.

"Darth fucking Marr." Through the unsteady connection of the ship's main holoterminal this far out from the Core Worlds the thick Corellian accent of Captain Rielay Taqq made her words near indecipherable. "I thought your deep meaningful friendship ended after Yavin."

Emeldir barked out a laugh, checking his blasters and holstering them on his belt, then moving to check the small emergency supply pouch, holding stims and bacta patches that had come in handy more times than he could count in patching someone up just enough to make it back to the ship or a medbay. "I think you mean tolerance, Taqq. But I guess he's the one that got a read on Vitiate and he's got his flagship out there."

"Convenient," When he looked up Rielay was fiddling with her headset, scowling. "Just want to clear the air here, I don't like you going out there. It's too..." She made a face and fluttered her free hand through the air. "well, convenient."

"I know you aren't thrilled with this alliance any more than half the soldiers on Yavin, but we have a common enemy. It would be impractical for him to kill us now." Emeldir tapped his ear, raising an eyebrow. "What's with that?"

"Can't have you corrupting my children if you start running into problems, not with your sailor's mouth."

"That I probably picked up from you."

"Not my point," Rielay said pointedly, fiddling with the headset a little more until she was seemingly satisfied and settling it on her head. "and nice change of subject. You don't really trust them do you?" She frowned. "...do you?"

He hesitated, snatching up his own audio piece, a small in-ear fixture that he'd be able to get audio from Rielay and his crew on, and they'd be able to hear him. Though he may be going onto Marr's flagship alone, he made sure that he wouldn't be going on completely cut off should anything go wrong. Rielay, of course, was all the way back in the Core Worlds, at her home on Corellia and wouldn't be much use. Her voice among the mix was a small comfort, a security blanket against the complete unknown of being on a ship surrounded by Imperials.

"Trust is a bit of a stretch. It's a mutual enemy, we have to work together. It's more an understanding than trust." Fitting the audio piece in his ear he flicked it on and the audio to the main holoterminal off. "Can you hear me?"

Rielay, mid-sentence when the audio switched off, gave him a frown and a roll of the eyes and before a thumbs up. Her voice was tinny through the smaller audio port. "That I can, Cap'n. Loud and clear. Why do you want me here anyway?"

"Thanks for that Taqq," Emeldir shook his head before flipping the audio back and grabbing his jacket from the back of the couch, shrugging it on and checking the pockets to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He had everything he needed on his belt, he had already checked the audio between the ship's feed and his earpiece...he may just be ready to step into what might be enemy territory if he didn't play his cards right. "Maybe I want you on backup for advice should anything go wrong."

"Shoot 'em." She deadpanned. "Nice and dead. It's a solve all." They looked at each other, completely serious before Emeldir cracked a smile first and they both dissolved into laughter. It felt good to laugh in tension that had been building the entire flight, to break it briefly before the severity of the situation came rushing back in.

Corso's voice broke in from the bridge, his voice carrying in the short space. "Captain we're approaching the flagship, looks like they've already got the docking clamps unlocked."

"Thanks, Riggs. I'll be ready to board as soon as we set down." He called before glancing up at the holoterminal feeling his heart beginning to crawl into his throat, nerves starting up a dance in his stomach. "I think this is where I sign off for now."

Through the grainy blue feed of the holo her expression dropped before she reasserted a forced smile and offered a jaunty salute. "Go do what you do best and save the galaxy, yeah? And try to stay safe doing it."

"I'll do my best." Emeldir returned her messy salute before disconnecting the call, leaning on the terminal long enough to take a steadying breath, then went over to the intercom on the wall, leaning against the button. "We're coming in on the flagship, meet me on the bridge."

On the slow approach to the flagship, a massive ship floating in the open expanse of nothing that Wild Space consisted of, they all met in the center of the ship. Emeldir standing near the bridge with his arms crossed, Corso to his left, Risha across from him leaning on the holoterminal and Gus and Akaavi on either side of her. "I don't think there's anything we need to worry about from Marr, but if anything does go wrong remember that if something goes wrong you guys get out."

"That's still a no-go, Emeldir." Corso shook his head. "That policy doesn't fly with us."

"Well it flies now, Riggs." Emeldir kept his voice firm. "We're in unfamiliar territory and I'm somewhere on that ship with a blaster bolt through my head then you leave me there and take my ship." He had heard those words once before, from his fellow captain Rielay. He hadn't been any good at following those orders. He just hoped his crew would see the sense in it, especially out here.

Though he let his eyes find each crew member in turn, Corso still frowning, Gus avoiding his eyes and Akaavi scowling, his eyes lingered a second longer on Risha's, who set her jaw and glared.

"Nothing's going to happen." She snapped. "So we won't need your idiotic policy."

They held sharp glares for a moment longer before he softened, letting out an aggravated sigh. "If you won't follow that then remember that at the end of the day I can and will pull the captain card if things get bad."

"And that captain card extends to me too, Deryn, just remember that. My name's right next to yours on those ownership papers." Risha crossed her arms, mirroring his pose, voice taut. "So don't pull it."

Gritting his teeth Emeldir thanked the stars when a beep sounded from the bridge. He didn't want to go onto the ship alone any more than his crew wanted him too, nor did he want to have to leave them, but there wasn't anything he could do about it and it wouldn't do them any good for them to die alongside him should something go wrong. If all of them, Risha included, could just put aside their loyalty for a single time. "That's the signal for when they're ready for us to dock. Everyone's stations good to go?"

At his crew's nod, he offered them a smile in place of the intensity that had started to emerge. "Good, it's going to be fine. We won’t' need the plan b's and c's, don't worry."

That was a lie, they were all worrying.

His crew broke off to their stations, whether it be the guns or the engine room, with Risha following him onto the bridge. As he took over the controls and guided the freighter towards the docking clamps on the side of the flagship things were quiet between them. The clamps locked down on the ship, jarring the entire framework briefly before settling, the sound of the interior airlock unlocking sounding through the ship. He straightened, facing Risha. Her eyes were still sharp, though her jaw worked as she tilted her chin up to look at him.

"Do you really think something's going to happen?"

Emeldir fiddled with his gauntlet, giving a small shrug. "I can't promise anything. It's too different."

"I'm not asking you to promise anything, I'm just asking for you to come back." Her eyes searched his face, frowning. "Just remember, it's this and then we're going home. Permanently. No more galaxy-saving."

"Just this." he sighed, the signal on the control board beeping again, giving him the all clear to board. "I'll be back soon, Rish." Before he stepped past her he paused, leaning down to kiss her gently.

The walk to the airlock as the longest walk he'd ever made, each step leaden.

The airlock for the  _ Phoenix _ popped open at the touch of a button, shunting him into a crisp white hallway, windows lining the side, Imperial sentries posted at every third pillar on the wall. Already he felt suspicious eyes on him, boring into his back as he walked up the hallway towards a female officer. As he approached she offered a stiff salute and a wary look.

"Captain Deryn, Darth Marr is waiting for you on the bridge. We'll see that you're ship gets refueled."

"My crew can handle it," His voice was sharper than he intended and he forced it to curb its edge. "thank you, though."

The officer dipped her head respectfully, stepping aside. "Of course. the bridge is just down the hallway and to the left. It shouldn't be hard to find."

If there was a razored edge to the comment then Emeldir ignored it, giving just as tight a nod before walking by, through the metal archway and into the next area, buzzing with life as crew members and officials scampered around, trying to make ready for any possible outcome of this meeting. They all cleared from his path as he approached, falling silent until he was past when the murmurs would start again.

The bridge was empty except for the looming form of Darth Marr, silhouette intimidating in its spiked pauldrons and masked head, and the few crewmen stationed at integral controls. "Captain Deryn," He rumbled as he approached. "I assume you can guess why you're here."

"Theron Shan briefed me before I set course here." Emeldir came to stand at Marr's side, glancing out the massive viewport rather than meet the eyeless mask of Darth Marr's helmet. "You've found Vitiate."

"Signs of him, he must be around here somewhere. It reeks of him in the Force." Marr shifted, gesturing towards the stars. "There is nothing here, I do not know what he wishes to accomplish."

"Is it a trap?" It could be a possibility, but what would the old sith emperor gain from destroying a flagship and a smuggling vessel? They weren't a mass gathering of Republic and Imperial leadership like the Yavin Coalition had been. There would be no payout, just useless destruction.

"I do not believe so. We need to scout the area, find the source of his power and destroy it--" A grey blur shot by the viewport, startling both of them.

"What was that? A probe?" Emeldir turned on his heel, hurrying down the length of the viewport, trying to catch sight of it at the same time Marr whirled and began barking orders at his crew.

"Shoot it down! Now!"

"Wait! What if we can get information from it?"

Marr fixed him with what could only be a glare, helmet-modified voice a growl. "If we know the probe's location then the probe's source knows ours. Destroy it."

Sensory alarms began to blare on the console and Emeldir pivoted, eyes widening as first one ship jumped out of hyperspace, followed by what could only be hundreds more, unlike any make he'd ever seen before, more ships than he'd ever seen in a fleet. "We have bigger problems."

The flagship rocked, sensory alarms mixing with new, system alarms blaring about interior damage. "Sir enemy borders!" One of the crewmen barreled onto the bridge. "Not Republic, sir. Seem to be droids."

"Get them off this ship." Marr ordered, first at his crewmember and then to Emeldir, "Get to the engine room, we need to protect the ship's power core. Follow the main hallway, hold of any invaders. I will meet you there."

"Got it," Emeldir resisted the urge to tack on 'sir', drawing both his blasters and taking off at an uneven lope out of the bridge and down the hallway. The lights had flickered off out here, the backup generator either not yet engaged or blown out, the only light coming from the emergency bulbs and the red flashes of the alarms. All around him crew in Imperial uniforms ran, shouting orders.

Around the bend of the corridor, an infiltration pod had rammed into the ship's exterior, fires spurting up around the torn and curled in metal. "What the hell are you?" Emeldir muttered as three unidentifiable soldiers hopped out, white droids unlike any he'd seen in the Republic or Empire, snarling and aiming to fire. He dropped them in a few shots, barely pausing to toe the scattered metal parts for some identification before pressing on. This fleet wasn't Republic then, it was something else entirely...

He didn't like something else entirely. Something else entirely was Ziost.

'Deryn, what's going on?' Risha's voice buzzed through his earpiece.

"Unknown borders on the ship, some unidentified fleet that didn't make contact before firing. Be prepared to get out."

'Shit' he heard her mutter before it was drowned out by the groan of metal as it buckled under the weight of another infiltration pod. Emeldir dropped a detonator, shooting it as it rolled under the droids' feet, quickening his pace.

The pattern was the same, pods breaking through the exterior of the ship despite the shields, droids careening out and opening fire, Emeldir shooting them down as fast as they could come in. It was the same even when he took a slight detour, pulling the fire from the few Republic soldiers on board representing Saresh in the pending negotiations.

'We have a problem.' Emeldir swore when Corso's voice broke through the din of the alarms and fighting.

"What is it, Riggs?"

'Docking clamp's stuck, we can't disengage from the ship and fly out.'

"Hang tight, I'll get it." Emeldir changed course, sprinting down a side hallway, working from the memory of the ship's layout he had looked at a few times on the journey from Coruscant, preparing for the possible need to escape. He hadn't wanted to use it.

The controls for the docking clamp were surrounded by fire, metal crumpled on metal and sparks flying from the broken control boards. He threw himself onto his knees at the only salvageable one, pulling away the skewed panel and setting to work on the mess of wires, hissing out a breath when a few wayward sparks brushed against his skin. "Almost...there! Riggs give it a try."

'Nothing, captain.'

Emeldir growled, pulling at a few other wires, then standing to work on the control levers and buttons, alternating between the two until finally, a green light flashed. "It should be loose enough to pull free."

'Isn't that going to damage the ship?'

"I don't care about my fucking ship if it means you can get free." he snapped. "Can you break free?"

There was the wail of breaking metal through the audio feed before a relieved sigh followed. 'We're off, minor damage. Where are you, we'll come grab you?'

Emeldir looked over his shoulder as there was another crash, the sound of blaster fire growing closer. "Get the ship out of there, I'll be right behind you."

In the shocked pause, Rielay's voice cracked through like a whip; 'What the fuck is going on out there?'

'Captain we aren't leaving you there, where are you?'

"I said get out of here!" Now wasn't the time to start questioning his orders. "There is a huge fleet firing on us, get into safe space. I said I'll be right behind you."

'I don't like just leaving you behind..'

A piece of metal siding peeled from the wall, crashing in a cloud of sparks and flame. "You don't have to like it, just do it! I won't lose my crew."

Corso's voice was resigned, a hesitant sigh crackling before his words filtered through. 'Fine, send us your location when you're out."

He could still hear Taqq in the background and he flipped channels as he ran down the hallway. "Taqq, knock it off. Everything's fine."

'You've got a real bad definition of fine!'

Pausing at a corner, breath sharp against the smoke he let his head drop back against the metal siding as he tried to reorganize his thoughts. "You know where everything is on my ship?"

'Yeah what the f--hell has that got to do with anything?'

"Good, just remember that." And he switched the audio off at her sharp inhalation. He shouldn't cut her off, not when she's blind as a bat all the way on Corellia but well...with the world falling to pieces around him some things were left unsaid. 

In the engine room, the alarms were screaming, drowning out any cohesive thought as Emeldir slammed into the control board, hands fluttering above the unfamiliar keys before starting to fly across them. He and Marr had waded through enemies to get here, and it was quiet for now, but metal still shrieked as it fell, slamming into the floor with enough force to rock the ship. They needed to save the power core, ruptured from strain and the barrage of firepower.

Marr's massive form took up the slack of the parts he couldn't reach, moving with a quieter intensity than the fevered intensity that Emeldir took to the board with. "The power core is strained."

"I know!" Emeldir flinched as a loud crash sounded, another attack shaking the entire ship. He slammed his hand on the overheating metal and bit back a curse. Time as quickly running out, they needed to get the whole vessel back online. He looked over at Marr, finding that his hands had stilled. "Why'd you stop working? We need to get this thing running again!"

The sith's expression was unreadable beneath his mask and he desperately wished he could find some sliver of emotion beneath the cold metal. Anything to match the fear coursing through his veins, even if it was in his stance, his voice. But it was all hidden beneath modifiers and heavy plated armor. Hands continuing to fly over the controls he tried to will the ship back to life.

"We can recharge the shields, but they won't do much good."

"Can we get the power core back?"

"It's overheating, beyond use even if we could salvage it."

Of course. Stars he had promised he'd be right behind them...if he could get the shields up, if they could escape. If, if, if. Too many ifs. The static of the engine room's comm drew his eyes from the board, the flickering form of the officer that had greeted him appearing, cowered behind one of the main stations.

'Enemies on the bridge! I repeat enemies on the bridge! Send aid--' The roar of blaster fire broke the transmission, the picture tilting dangerously before blanking out entirely.

"Shit," the audio of his earpiece crackled back to life, making him jump. One of his crew members must have sliced into the feed. It was Risha's voice that carried over the line.

'Deryn, we're circling outside their firing range, you need to get there.’ Her voice was near unintelligible through the static of fried circuits, but she sounded nervous. If the exterior view looked any better than the interior...

"There are basic back up controls," Marr rumbled, letting his hands rest on the edge of the console. "But the enemy has us surrounded and our options are limited." There it was, a quiet resignation in his voice and Emeldir felt his stomach drop, though he had wished only moments before for a sign of emotion. Resignation in the voice of a sith lord that could look death in the face and laugh could only mean one thing, no chance.

Something in Emeldir agreed, an icy claw hooking into his heart and dragging it down to his toes. Fine. "If we can't get out of this then we can at least save as many lives as we can." One glance over his shoulder confirmed that the burning wreckage was still blocking their escape from the engine room, too much too move, too little time. It was fine. His hand landed on the intercom's activation, no longer shaking but eerily still.

"Listen up! Everyone needs to find their way to an escape pod, I repeat, evacuate. That is an order, enemies are attacking and shields are failing--" He broke off, shoulders falling as he let his hand fall away from the button. "Get off if you can." he finished softly.

'Emeldir' Risha's voice was more insistent, urgent. 'If you're receiving this then please confirm. You need to get out.'

"I hear you, Risha."

With an enormous roar, metal plating crashed to the floor, ripping tubing and wiring down in flames. He looked over his shoulder and watched it hit the floor with a plume of ash and flame. Trapped, his thoughts wailed. Hopeless.

"So be it." Marr murmured, clasping his hands behind his back and straightening his shoulders, facing the collapsing interior of the ship like a stoic statue. The flames reflected red and gold off his mask, the destruction shown as clearly as in a mirror.

'Get off that damn ship!' Behind Risha's voice, he could hear the crackling line of Rielay's voice from the holoterminal in the _Phoenix_ , cursing. 'It's falling apart, find an escape pod or so help me--"

It took a few tries but the audio feed on his side spluttered back to life. His voice was still soft, all the intensity of earlier drained away. "I know."

The rush of frigid air pushed against them from the tear of the metal plating, followed by another rush of scalding air from the flames. His hand hovered by his ear, eyes squeezing closed against the distinct shift he heard in Risha's voice, even though the grainy quality.

'What do you mean you know? Find an escape pod, launch it and we'll come and find you!' He heard her gasp, then her accompanying swear. 'You're not...no, we'll get you out of there, we've piloted through worse.'

He could hear the panic building in her voice and tried to force as much calm into his as he could. Nothing he could do now except assuage her panic and then cut the feed before the inevitable end. "Rish,  _ Risha _ ," She quieted, small breath hitching over the connection. "It's alright. You and the crew need to get out."

The last moments of a Republic privateer failing to save an Imperial war vessel was not a cruel irony they needed to see, it may be inevitable for him but it didn't need to be the end for them. They could still escape the firestorm without the enemies noticing the small freighter jumping into hyperspace. He wanted them safely away, away from the fire raining down from all directions on the flagship.

'I'm not leaving you Emeldir, you can't pull the captain card on me, remember?'

Or maybe he wanted to save himself by sending them away. Save himself from the pain of hearing Risha's fear, from hearing Taqq shouting in the background, maybe it was his own selfishness that had him wanting to shelter his family from the failing moments of the flagship.

"I shouldn't have promised to be right behind you," He flinched as another chunk of sliding struck the floor, close enough to send another scalding storm of air and ash. "i'm sorry."

'Don't apologize for anything until you're back on this ship because we're coming to get you.' her voice broke audibly and he winced, bowing his head. He didn't want to do this to her, this wasn't how it was supposed to have worked out.

This was supposed to be a series of diplomatic meetings, maybe some fighting as they closed in on the Emperor but then his part would be done. The Republic military would step in when they had a solid target and Supreme Chancellor Saresh would release him from his contract that wasn't really a contract but a forced action based in moral obligation, and they'd go home to Coruscant until their next step came.

Marr was silent, facing death like it was an old friend, having no crew he needed to give last assurances too, no one pleading for him to run. How he did it, Emeldir couldn't fathom to know. "Rielay knows what to do, just," His voice dropped out and he cleared his throat, trying to steady it against the splintering cacophony of noise and the thickening acrid smoke. There was one last thing he needed to say, words he should have said before he had ever left the _ Phoenix _ but had been lost in the activity. "Risha, I love you, okay?"

'I know but you're going to tell me when you get back on this ship again, and again until you make up for this stunt.' A pause filled only with the crackling noise of the line and he thought the connection may have cut entirely. Then her voice returned, choked. "I love you too, you idiot."

The signal cut out, leaving only dull static in its wake and the sound of his own pulse hammering in his ears.

His hand, still lingering by the earpiece, closed on it and pulled it away, dipping his head and squeezing it between his fingers until he watched the broken bits fall from palm to floor.

So be it.

Against the rising noise, Emeldir closed his eyes and focused on the only thing that came to mind, a strain of a poem that had circulated around Coruscant in the wake of the unwinding war with the Empire. It had its roots in the Great Galactic War, that much he knew, but had found its resurgence in recent years.

_ The world didn't end with a scream but silence, _

_ And should that silence have been broken, _

_ Then let the world end not with pleading but with a whimper. _

_ Let that whimper fall into a sigh, and then into nothing at all. _

The sudden roar of a hundred turrets firing at once thundered around them. It snapped the flagship like twigs in strong fingers, it's last groaning cry accompanied by the the crack of its metal bones and flames exploding from it like brilliant white, red, and gold blood.

_ But in that silence there was life, _

_ And in that whimper, there was the last hope, _

_ Something more was a promise whispered in the sigh, _

_ For when that nothing fell there is the light, _

_ Where from the ashes a new world may rise. _

In the unexplored depths of Wild Space, an Imperial warship splintered, bleeding flame. Aboard it fell Republic and Imperial alike, fighting not each other, but the indomitable fleet that stood silent witness to its last struggling moments, the only ones to see its blazing death among the glittering stars.

Across the stars Rielay pushed herself away from the table, headset falling to the floor in pieces, hands knotting into her hair as she stared at the lifeless audio set with wide, unseeing eyes. An agonized, wordless wail worked its way into her throat, filling the silence that the static had left.

And in the dying glow of the flames a lone freighter made the jump into hyperspace, the last vows between crew and captain carrying them further and further away. A crew that stood in shock, unmoving, reeling at the loss of the heart of their ship, long after the flagship’s ashes had faded from view.

Only then, did they break. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who's helped me get the inspiration to rework this story, and for everyone, that's listened to me cry about space!politics in preparation for later chapters. 
> 
> Thank you for reading <3


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